











Advantage: Boston
Start of Qtr 2: Gasol starts on the bench. Farmar starts the second. Turiaf is FINALLY in the game. Pierce throws it away. Sasha is in as well with Bryant and Odom. Boston has House, Posey (wait, Turiaf drew a loose ball foul on Boston), P.J. Brown, Big Baby just came in for P.J. (to match Turiaf), Powe, and Perkins. So it's the battle of the scrubs but the Lakers have Odom and Kobe in (who probably will play the whole game). Evenly fought so far, but watch for the Lakers to make a push. If you see Turiaf spark an L.A. rally I'll probably throw something at the T.V.
10:00, Qtr 2: Doc Rivers just grabbed a tech. That could be huge down the stretch for Doc's ability to put pressure on the refs. It certainly can't be good for Boston's psyche in terms of stability. Pierce silences that thought with a rattle-me-home 3 and Sasha misses on the other end (who shot him with confidence-juice during these playoffs?). L.A. missed a great opportunity to capitalize on momentum. Powe misses a 16 foot set shot. Odom takes it aggressively to the basket and draws a foul. This bodes well for Lakers fans. I'm surprised KG is still out of the game. Look at this part of the film if L.A. makes a push here and ultimately wins the game. The Boston team on the floor couldn't win a rec league game in some cities. As I write this Powe makes a transition layup. Boston by 5. House is fouled by Farmar going into a T.V. break. I imagine the first team's come back out. I wonder if Turiaf will be with them or if Radmonovich gets another chance.
8:08, Qtr 2: Ray-Ray is still in the Sick-Bay (OK, I will NEVER do that again). Boston has a healthy 6 point lead without having played their best. L.A. starts with Kobe, Fisher, Sasha, Gasol, and TURIAF (haha). Boston works with Powe, Posey, Pierce, House, and Big Baby. KG is checking in for Pierce. Now it's on (minus Ray Ray). Bad rebounding by the Lakers leads to a 3rd chance opportunity for Boston which House ultimately cans for a 3. Sasha screws the pooch by turning it over, and House makes them pay on the other end for 3 again. Sasha is mixed up defensively. Him and Farmar better do a ro-sham-bo to see who shows up this game because one of them needs to OR Fisher needs to play the whole game (not a good option). T.V. time out, Boston by 9. It's now or never for the Lake Show, they need to put the fear of doubt into both the Celtics or the crowd, or the game will be in Boston's favor come the last 2 minutes.
6:30, Qtr 2: Starting five for the Lakers back in. Pierce drives into the lane and passes up an open layup...so goes the NBA finals. Just after the recently hot Michele Tafoya reports trouble for Ray Ray he runs out of the tunnel to a raucous ovation. I doubt the Lakers or the Boston fans will be fazed either way about that given the Paul Pierce episode. Although it would be cool to hear a chant of "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus". Kobe just lost the ball off the dribble and in transition Posey just nailed a 3. Welcome to nail #1 of 3 in the coffin. Time out Phil Jackson.
3:30, Qtr 2: Boston has pushed a 13 point lead. They are outclassing L.A. in every phase of the game. If this keeps up I'm going to stop writing.
End of Half: Boston finishes on a 26-6 run. The Lakers go into the locker room down by 23. It's safe to say that if the Laker win this game that they will win game 7. So that's the challenge that's been laid down by fate, circumstance, and the Boston Celtics dominating first half. I'm not going to write until this becomes a game, because I'm sure ya'll don't care one way or another until it does.
Halftime Observations:
Onto the 2nd Half:
12:00, 3rd Qtr: Rondo nails a jump shot confident when up by 23....that's going to be "not good" for the Lakers. The Lakers need to put their "toughs" into the game to claw back into this. The Lakers were down by 24 in Game 2 and the Celtics obviously came back in Game 5. It's wishful thinking on my part but at least there's precedent. Allen just nailed a 3 after Rondo misses what should be an open take. Radmonovich nails the coffin in my assessment that he sucks, and so does Jackson's decision making by bricking another 3. Rondo travels though and leaves the small door open.
10:24, 3rd Qtr: Fisher can't connect. Celtics continue to push the tempo. Rondo can't make anything consistently, hence his downfall as an NBA point guard. Fisher goes "and 1" with the foul shot upcoming. Van Gundy calls out a potential Laker defense and temporarily I believe that he is a good color guy (my brain expunges the alcohol required to watch this game and I resume taking part in reality.) Pierce just took a prayer drive and made it (somebody stop that guy for the sake of television rankings). Gasol passes a 10 footer on the other end while Sasha took a swing pass and drained the three. Rondo took all of his confidence with him to the rim for an and-one and makes the throw (this is the penalty you pay for letting him get his rocks off on D).
8:05, 3rd Qtr: Van Gundy just highlighted that L.A. has a very good defensive team, outside of Radmonovich. Rondo steals and in transition finds Ray Allen with announcer whateverhisname is saying "Celtics embarrassing the Lakers!" Where is Marv Albert when you need him. This is what happens when a weak Kobe Bryant collides with a smug Phil Jackson. I think all of the aforementioned teams could have competed better than the Lakers....so much for Western Conference dominance. For all the Rondo fans out there, you are validated. His on-ball defense (see earlier post) has proven to be a difference maker. Bryant just shot a fadeaway 20 footer and bricked, desperacy is in the air.
6:25, 3rd Qtr: I'm going to begin to write on tangents. The game is no longer important now until the Lakers can get it under 10 (which I think they have a shot at). For all the Laker love given by the media, they look like a J.V. basketball team. Gasol just got given an entry pass in the sweet spot in the middle of the key and couldn't come to the ball. It looks like the defensive coaching of Tiberot is showing itself. He's clearly instructed his guys to attack the entry pass at the expense of position and Gasol won't make them pay. He's used to getting the ball in Memphis where nobody cares. For all the pundits that have given the Lakes multiple championships in the next few years they may want to re-evaluate Gasol's toughness and willingness to learn. He clearly can't establish himself in the post when the defense is at a "finals" level. T.V. timeout.
After an entire year I just realized that the NBA "cares". I wonder if they care about point shaving.
5:57, 3rd Qtr: A 30 point game. This thing is done. Does anybody wonder if this is poetic justice for Kobe Bryant? As I write he misses a fadeaway 18 footer. After getting a rare stop Gasol gets tied up by Garnett when he has position for a jump ball. I wonder who will win this one. Radmonovich makes his 2nd "3" of the third quarter, maybe Phil will start him for another 5 years. Rondo tips in a KG miss, amazing. Does he have flaws in his game yes, but on this team, no.
4:30, 3rd Qtr: Kobe tips in a miss. If this lead remains at 30 after the 3rd and the Lakers win I will officially give up basketball writing. Odom with timeliness drives and jumps into the air only to throw the ball to the Celtics. This game is getting difficult to watch. The only thing that drives me to write is that I can't get it through my thick skull why Boston is destroying them. I'll say defense is the answer but for me it comes down to the Lakers inability to compete. Gasol just actually "manned up" and grabbed a defensive rebound when challenged by players inches shorter than him, good for him.
3:25, 3rd Qtr: I think every team in the Western Conference is punching walls in their homes right now knowing that they could have beat this Celtics team. Radmonovich takes a transition 3 with nobody under the hoop and gets bailed out by Ray Ray touching the ball before it goes out of bounds. T.V. timeout.
2:45, 3rd Qtr: Gasol gets the inbounds pass, loses his footing, and passes it to a white jersey. Pierce misses a step back 3 and Kobe grabs the rebound and promptly gets it stolen by....who....Rondo (6th steal of the game). Kobe takes the rock strong to knock it down to 29. L.A. gets a stop and Kobe takes the ball to the rack to get to the foul line. I'm guessing that L.A. is going to make a move in the offseason to get another player with toughness regardless of the price and/or smartness of the deal. The Celtics have gone into time-wasting mode. The sad part is that the could do this for the rest of the game and probably win no matter how bad they play. Rondo just made a driving layup. The Celtics need to score no less than 20 points from hereon out to win this game. P.J. Brown just got a great steal and now it's almost over. He scores on the other end to put it back to 29. Final seconds of the 3rd, Kobe shoots a fadeaway from 18 feet that falls short. You have to wonder if he's been injured at all for these last 2 series. He just doesn't seem to have the first step that we're all accustomed to. End of quarter.
Observations after 3 quarters:
Start of 4th: Turiaf lands on the court. I wonder if Jeannie text-messaged Phil and demanded that with threat of no fun-time. Kobe and Gasol are on the bench. The Celts are certainly going to be play slow, we'll see what happens. Ariza enters the game and is quickly in the right spot at the right time getting to the foul line on a pass from Turiaf. One has to wonder if the second squad can scrap them into a position to put SOME pressure on the Celts. Sasha throws the ball away and Rondo took the ball to the hoop on the other end drawing a flagrant foul. As if it was in question, put this one into the books. That flagrant was a bad call, he was barely touched.
10:44, Qtr 4: Rondo is on the line having scored 20 points. If you told me that before the game I would have bet the entire house on the Celtics. Despite all of the Celtics shortcomings they play like a team and that fact is evident in their victory. Phil sits on the bench looking like he just got fooled in a 3-card monty game. They should just institute the 10 run rule and give the Celtics the game as the rest of the Boston-hating universe has to watch this crap (I don't hate Boston...just their fans). Farmar hits a 3, but too bad Ray Ray hits one on the other side (as Sasha screws up on defense AGAIN). So much for Allen's decline. This performance in the finals solidifies a spot in the Hall of Fame even though there will be detractors from that comment...a championship does wonders unless you're "Big Shot Bob". As I write Allen hits another 3. Jackson takes a timeout and I wonder if he'll take the time to appropriately apologize to his team for the psychological restructuring of their mental psyches he's undertaken when he didn't evaluate himself in quid pro cro.
7:42, Qtr 4: I got distracted by a girl with huge knockers so my apologies. This game sucks. So do the Lakers. Maybe the NBA should institute a rule where if the losing team goes 4 on 5 their points are worth more. Then again, maybe the Lakers should actually bring their balls to the Finals. The worst thing about this is knowing that Boston fans have more to crow about. I usually hate the Lakers, but this seems to be worse. I might actually punch the next Boston fan I see without giving a reason. It's party mode in the TD Banknorth whatever the hell the stadium name is. I hate this outcome.
5:24, Qtr 4: Ray Ray just hit his 7th 3 pointer of the game tying an NBA record. Odom got fouled and things are getting chippy. It's about time the Lakers showed some life. It's just a matter of the clock winding down at this point. Is there some rich guy in Boston who won a bet with all the other rich guys and paid the NBA to have Boston win? I don't want to take anyway from Boston, but I just did. They deserve the championship and I like their players. BUT, and this is a big BUT, they could barely handle Cleveland, who was manhandled by most of the league all year long. I know the playoffs are a different story and matchups usually determine what team beats whom, but I don't see Boston beating San Antonio or even Phoenix. I think New Orleans would have a chance. I even think that Golden State could have matched them position for position. That's just the way it goes I suppose but I think that L.A. lost this series as much as Boston has won it. Nevertheless, you have to give Boston their props for winning the games that matter, and for that they are the champions.
5:00, Qtr 4: "Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Hey-Heeey-Hey, Good-Bye" The Celtics crowd throws extra sauce on the drubbing. That will be remembered for years.
4:30, Qtr 4: 116-81. Ugly. The "na-na" chant is something that I haven't heard in my lifetime and is something that should be cherished for years. When a team loses this bad under this much rivalry pressure they deserve to be embarrassed like that. The Boston starters just got pulled out and a cameraman just got thrown by Joey Crawford, it's the most defense that's been played on behalf of the Lakers all night long.
3:29, Qtr 4: The celebration has begun on the sidelines. Rivers is emotional hugging his guys. The Celtics can't help but celebrate. It's not as professional as our P.C. society has begun but how can you hate on these guys? They deserve it. They won the Finals. They played like a team. They are waiting in desperation for the final ticks to go down. Anybody who has played any competitive sports knows what this is. The lead is at 35 and Kobe just missed a 3. The refs are concentrating on keeping the game civil. Posey just drained a 3. This is painful for the Lakers, but nobody in America cares.
2:21, Qtr 4: There is a full-fledged celebration on the sidelines and I can't remember when I've seen this so early in the 4th. This won't be taken lightly by Kobe or the Lakers organization. Of course, you can't blame them. This is what all of us dream of, winning the NBA championship. If the Lakers didn't want to be shown up on the sidelines then maybe they would have come within 20 points of victory. 30+ points means that no matter what the Celtics do they are GOING TO WIN THE GAME. Therefore they get to enjoy their hard-earned championship before the end of regulation, and you can bet there's going to be one helluva hard-earned celebration.
Predictions:
Again 2:21 in the 4th: Garbage-time. Paul Pierce is being talked about being "in the rafters" and I have to say that he will get in, but he's lucky. He's been a cancer on the ball-court his whole career and now he gets lucky with a Lakers choke. But good for him, in the grand-scheme of things he out-accomplished millions of basketball players in the entire world to get there. We sometimes lose perspective when players can't "get it done" against other world-class athletes. He is lucky, but he is good, and it is better to be lucky, and also good.
1:52, 4th Qtr: Big Baby just threw down a dunk. Why not hand each Celtics fan a bottle of Dom Perignon? Eddie House just dunked, the city WILL BE TURNED UPSIDE DOWN. I wonder if Doc will clear the bench. He should. The Lakers should be ashamed of themselves turning in this effort. They've given up, and that is a reflection of their coach and their star player. Kobe, Michael Jordan you are not, you have his skill but not his heart. I do think that the celebration on the side of the court is going to hurt these Celtics in later games. It is a bit uncalled for, understandable, but uncalled for. You wouldn't see a Phil Jackson team do that, if it is any consolation for how bad he has coached and how bad the Lakers have played.
You can tell how much Doc Rivers is loved on the sidelines. He has made some bone-headed moves but winning cures everything. The big 3 are in a place that only champions know. The clock is about to run out and I'm getting goose bumps. If only all of us could experience this.
I want to thank all of you for your support during this NBA season. It is a pleasure to write for you all and I can't wait until we do it again (starting tomorrow). Good luck in everything that you do and take care!
—Bruski